NCJ Number
75276
Date Published
1973
Length
138 pages
Annotation
The development of a prototype crime reporting system is described and system components are explained. The system was developed by the California Crime Technological Research Foundation under an LEAA grant.
Abstract
The project goal was to develop a crime reporting system suitable for small, medium, and large cities, and for use by both urban and rural law enforcement agencies. In the requirements analysis, data were gathered via mailed questionnaires and on-site surveys to establish functions within each agency that required crime data and to analyze both the information requirements of these functions and the data needed or available to meet them. The data elements were then identified. A data hierarchy was established; it consisted of data groups, data categories, data chains, data elements, and data items. Five elements necessary for each event were also established: event information, personal descriptors, property descriptors, location information, and time information. Finally, a prototype crime reporting system was designed that relies on four reporting forms: a complaint/dispatch reporting form, a crime event report form, follow-up investigation report form, and an arrest report form. The system consists of three functional modules: a data capture module, a report management and control module, and a data utilization module. The system maintains an event/case file and a police activity file. The conceptual crime reporting system design and data elements thus developed must now be tested and evaluated in an operational environment. The surveys used, data element charts, prototype forms, and other tables and charts are included in the 28 exhibits. The agencies included and responding to the mail survey, a data element list by crime reporting process, and Security and Privacy Standards of the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals are appended.